Everett Historical Commission

APPROVED Everett Historical Commission Minutes January 26, 2016 Members Present Members Absent Visitors City Staff Allan White Mark Soine Andrea Tucker Ross Johnson Arnold Morrison Eli Griffin David Stahlheim Bill Vincent Sandra Alder Niels Tygesen Bobby Olsen Fred Cruger Paul Popelka Dale Good Chris Jenkins Glenn Hunter Dick and Shirley Prouty Jack O’Donnell Lauren Kraetz Laura Cameron- Jeff Heinz Behee Neil Anderson Mark Thunberg Steve Fox Wendy Poischbeg CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Everett Historical Commission was scheduled for Tuesday, January 25, 2016 at 7:00 p.m., in the Hearing Room in Everett City Hall at 2930 Wetmore Avenue, Everett, WA 98201. Chair Olsen called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Olsen requested action on the January 26 meeting minutes. Commissioner Anderson moved to approve the January 26, 2016 minutes as written. Motion seconded by Commissioner Morrison. Motion passed unanimously. CITIZEN COMMENTS Andrea Tucker 3330 Wetmore, Everett, WA Ms. Tucker noted that Historic Everett held its annual retreat on January 23. She handed out a brochure, Everett’s Historic Storefronts, and suggested that Historic Everett and the Historical Commission work together to revive the brochure. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Chair Olsen called for nominations for the 2016 Commission Chair. Commissioner Anderson nominated Jack O’Donnell for the 2016 Chair. Nomination passed unanimously. No Vice-Chair was nominated. Chair O’Donnell noted that the Vice-Chair has traditionally assumed the Chair’s position at the next election. The Vice Chair position will be addressed again at the next meeting. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Cameron-Behee learned of the Trinity College closing and expressed her regret about that closing. She also noted that Gene Fosheim has released a book, Mill Town Boy, and suggested that he be invited to make a presentation to the Commission. Commissioner Anderson shared a Seattle Times article on the planned restoration of a Pike Street building in Seattle similar to the Hodges building. The owners plan to restore the building for a boutique hotel. Commissioner Fox requested that three projects discussed in the past be completed this year, including freeway signage for the Hewitt National Historic District; Hewitt District signage to recognize the district based on a presentation from 2015; and sidewalk standards for overlay districts to more closely match existing sidewalks. Commissioner Fox proposed that signage be installed along the Mill Town Trail from Bayside to the Riverside Park, possibly adapting existing bike route signs to add trail signage. Commissioner Fox noted that Jan Meston has worked on these projects and met some challenges, particularly with the freeway signage. He agreed that these issues should be resolved so projects can be completed. Commissioner O’Donnell welcomed the new and recent city staff, and representatives from Snohomish County. He expressed concerns about endangered buildings, including the Hodges building, which may be eligible for the national register; the Longfellow building, which may be the most endangered building in the city; the YMCA, which is more threatened with the Trinity closure; the Masonic Temple; and what may be Everett’s oldest house, the Swalwell Cottage, which is on the National Register but is in poor condition. He also proposes to revisit the Hewitt District and update the Everett’s Historic Storefronts brochure. He noted that non-contributing structures in that area should be for considered for possible contributing structures. He also noted some positive trends in Everett. Changes in the downtown are bringing back its historic character with pedestrian oriented projects, buildings replacing parking lots and seeing more people downtown. He noted that November 5, 2016 is the 100th anniversary for the Everett Massacre and for the Big Snow in January 2016. He suggested visiting the Historic Everett website to check Commissioner Steve Fox’s contributions. He also welcomed new Commissioner Glenn Hunter. .ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA There were no additions to the agenda. Page 2 of 4 BRIEFING ON CARNEGIE BUILDING RENOVATIONS Sandra Alder, Capitol Architects, presented plans for restoring the Carnegie building. She presented proposed restoration building plans and elevations for restoring the exterior that includes replacing existing windows, exposing windows that are now below grade or filled in with masonry, replacing storefront style windows and doors with the correct materials, tuckpointing, gutters/downspouts, light fixtures and balustrades. The proposal replaces original windows that will replicate the 1904 building. The County is requesting that the Historical Commission provide a letter of support of the County’s efforts to restore this facility. Eli Griffin, Pella Corporation, provided an overview of their historic preservation work. He provided a handout of projects and reviewed several local area restoration projects that include window replacements that match the original window design. Discussion with the Commission included the following: • Extensive discussion of restoring rather than replacing existing windows Existing windows are in poor condition, are not energy efficient, and have lead- based paint If the original windows were restored, that would require extensive ongoing maintenance and poor insulation and sealing; the estimated cost to restore the windows is prohibitive. The County’s grant from the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) requires LEED Silver construction. Life cycle costs of the original windows, including increased energy costs, are also prohibitive. The County will consider using some of the original windows in some area of the building. Mark Thunberg, Snohomish County Facilities, noted that the cost of restoring windows was over $200,000. With the limited budget, other proposed building improvements, possibly including the window well, tuckpointing, and/or façade reconstruction would be cut to fund the window restoration. Further discussion included the following: • Color of window cladding The color will be changed to match the dark brown color of the original windows. • South building façade Building is mostly below grade; a window well will be built to expose the existing windows. • Storefront infill with concrete vs brick Concrete was chosen as matching bricks are not available and wood was not a viable material. • Project costs Exterior improvements are estimated at $800,000; interior improvements are a separate budget of $1.8 million. Page 3 of 4 Commissioner White moved to have staff write a letter of recommendation to Snohomish County accepting the Carnegie Building updates providing the proposed windows maintain the integrity of the building. Motion seconded by Commissioner Good. Further discussion included the following: • It was noted that DAHP requested an interpretive project as part of the building restoration, possibly displaying an original window(s). Similar projects may be done in other Everett buildings. • Three suppliers provided estimates for restoring the windows with costs ranging from $200-300,000. • Replacing the windows will allow the project to be completed as proposed, fully utilize the grant funding, and be occupied with new uses. Motion passed unanimously. ADDITIONAL TOPICS Staff updated the Commission on staff assignments, upcoming CLG training, selecting a consultant for the Claremont Heights Inventory, and the Metropolitan center Subarea Plan. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. Page 4 of 4